Journal box seal



Nov. 8, 1949 M. D. PATTULLO r-:T AL

JOURNAL BOX SEAL Filed Dec. 16, 194e.

Patented Nov. 8, 1949 JOURNAL BOX SEAL Milton D. rattan and luchar-a J. Shanahan.

wilmet, nl.

Application December 18, 1946, Serial No. 716,492 l 4 Claims. `(Cl. 286-6) This invention relates in general to journal box seals of an improved nature which are particularly adapted for use in connection with convenltional journal boxes on railroad cars.

It is a well recognized fact among railroad men that no eiiective sealing means have been devised to prevent the entrance of dust, dirt and other foreign matter into a railroad car journal box and the exit of oil from the journal box through :the opening therein around the car axle. It is necessary that the car axle enter the con- -ventional journal -box through an opening much larger than the diameter of the axle because of :the movement of the axle with respect to the journal box which occurs in various directions, not only during the coupling and uncoupling of the cars, but also when the car is in motion due to irregularities of the rails or bed. On some occasions the axle may move as much as H of an inch and the opening in the journal box through which the axle passes must be suiiiciently large to allow the axle to move this amount.

Heretofore it has been customary to insert a so--called gasket within a recess of the journal box and surrounding the axle, but the very nature and construction of such alleged sealing devices were vsuch as to 1permit the entrance of such foreign matter as large stones or rocks, and the lubricating oil in the journal box was allowed to leak out. These devices have proven unsatisfactory with'respect to the keeping out of smaller particles of dust; or dirt and they have permitted moisture to enter thte journd box and .become deposited on the axle therein, which moisture may become frozen during cold weather and must be relieved for satisfactory operation.

The device of the present invention constitutes a novel sealing means which will effectively prevent the entrance of even the smallest particles of dust and dirt into the journal box and around the axle and will also prevent the entrance of moisture so that the disadvantages mentioned above with respect to the conventional type of gasket or alleged seal .are able to be overcome. Furthermore, the lubricating oil within the journal box will be effectively prevented from leaking out when the present invention is being used.

One of rthe principal objects of the present invention is to provide a journal box seal or dust guard which will not only effectively preventl the entran-ce of dust and dirt into the journal box of a railroad car around the axle thereof, but will also keep the lubricating oil within the journal box.

Another object of the invention is to provide a novel form of seal or dust guard for railroad car journal boxes which is adapted to surround the axle at its point of entrance into the journal box for effectively preventing the entrance of dirt and dust and the exit of oil and which may be applied to 'the conventional journal box' without necessitating any change therein.

A further object of the invention is to provide a seal or dust guar-d for railroad car Journal boxes which is adapted to surround the axle and have a resilient contact movable therewith at all times so that any undue upward or downward movement of the axle will not impair the function of the seal.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a seal or dust guard of the class herein described which is adapted to surround the axle of a railroad car at its 'point of entrance into the journal box, and which is adapted to be received in a suitable recess provided in the journal box and the construction of which includes a resilient seal adapted to contact the axle at all times, and resilient nngers for contacting either or both sid-es of the recess whereby an effective seal against the entranceof dust or dirt particles will be obtained regardless of the movemenril of the axle.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent .by reading the following description taken ln connection with the accompanying drawing in which:

Fig. 1 is a vertical longitudinal sectional view through a conventional railroad car journal box showing the seal means of the present invention applied thereto;

Fig. 2 is a vertical transverse sectional view taken su-bstantially along the plane of line 2 2 of Fig. 1 wherein the sealing means or dust guard is shown in elevation; and

Fig. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view of rthe sealing means taken substantially along the plane of line 3 3 of Fig. 2.

For convenience throughout the specication the sealing means ofthe present invention may be referred to as a dust guard, although the application thereof to the axle of a railroad car at its juncture with the journal box may eiectively prevent the entrance of moisture and the like as well as particles of dust, dirt and other foreign matter, and will also prevent oil froml leaking out of the journal box.

The conventional journal box as it appears on railroad cars is well known to those skilled in the art and may be briefly described here as con- Memes stituting an arcuate bottom portion I having upwardly extending side members 2 and 3, and a top I. The open outer end of the box is normally closed by means of a plate 5 pivotally mounted at its upper end by means of pivot pins 6 located in mounting means 1 connected to the top 4. The inner end of the box is provided with a pair of horizontally spaced apart vertically extending partitions 8 and 9 thereby providing a space or recess I therebetween. Each of these partitions is provided with an opening II for the reception of the axle I2 which is provided with a slightly smaller portion I3 actually located within the confines of the openings. The outer end of the axle I4 extends within the Journal vbox and may be lubricated by any suitable and outer end of the axle I4 and which has a bearing lock plate IB located thereagainst for holding the various parts in place. The upper end of the recess I0 is normally open to permit the insertion of suitable sealing means. after which it may be closed by any desirable means such as the closure member I1.

The sealing means or dust guard of the present invention is adapted to be inserted'within the recess or well I0 of the journal box and has an outer peripheral configuration substantially like that of the recess. The dust guard is indicated generally by the numeral I8 in Fig. 2 and is composed of a plate I9 which is preferably formed of metal for the purpose of making it rigid. The metal also lends itself to having the sealing ribs suitably secured thereto such as by bonding or molding.

Thefplate I9 is provided with an opening 20 adapted to receive the portion I3 of the axle I2. The cross section of the plate I9 between the edge of the opening and the outer edge of the plate is substantially in the form of a channel member having a web 2l with spaced outwardly extending legs 22 and 23. the leg 22 constituting the pheripheral edge of the opening 20 and the leg 23 constituting the peripheral edge of the plate.

The annular leg 22 is provided with a flexible material 24 which is adapted to substantially enclose the leg and which has extending outwardly at one corner thereof the annular rib 25. The flexible substance of which the rib is formed may be any suitable material, such as rubber or other elastomeric materials, and may be bonded or otherwise molded onto the leg for securing it in place. The outer end of the rib 25 is adapted to be constantly in contact with the portion I3 of the axle I2, which is rotated within the opening 20. Because of this rotation of the axle it 'is highly desirable to impregnate the contacting surface of the rib 25 with a suitable lubricant such as graphite to prevent any wearing of the axle. Thus it will be clear that an effective seal will be provided which will prevent the entrance of dirt, dust, moisture and the like within the journal box between the dust guard and the axle, and which will also prevent oil in the box from passing outwardly around the axle.

The sealing means or dust guard is also provided adjacent the outer edge of the plate I9 and at the outer side thereof with a flexible material, such as rubber or other elastomeric materials 26, which is provided with a plurality of radially spaced and axially extending flexible ribs 21. When the dust guard is in place within the recess I0, these ribs 21 are adapted to bear 4 against one wall oi' the recess which constitutes the inner side of the partition 9.

A similar length of flexible material 28 may of the partition.

For convenience the ribs 21 and 29 have been shown as extending at substantially right angles to the plate I9 althoughit will be obvious that the sealing function of these ribs will not be impaired if they are disposed angularly as long as they are in contact with the walls of the recess I Il. Fig. 1 of the drawing illustrates the dust guard in position around the portion I9 of the axle I2 and within the recess I0 of the journal box. It will be evident. that the annular rib 25 bears tightly against the axle to prevent the entrance of foreign matter into the journal box, and the ribs 21 and 29 bear flexibly againstthe walls of the recess I0 so that no foreign matter may pass into the journal box through the recess. As stated above, the axle may have a considerable vertical movement with respect to the journal box within the opening II therein and when this movement occurs the sealing means or dust guard is carried with the axle and the ribs 21 and 29 will move with respect to the walls of the recess III against which they are adapted to bear.

It will be noted that the ribs 21 and 29 are of unequal length as shown in Fig. 3. That is, the ribs 29 are longer in an axial direction than the ribs 21. While this feature is not necessary, it nevertheless serves a useful function and provides a beneficial result in that it increases the eiliclency of the seal. The object of the ribs having unequal lengths is to provide ribs on one side which have a greater flexibility than those on the opposite side. I'he less flexible ribs form a cushion against one side of the well or recess I0 enabling the more flexible ribs to have a greater wiping action on the opposite side of the recess and thus act as a sealing means. While specific forms and arrangements of the ribs other than that shown may accomplish the same result, the present form provides for less flexibility in the shorter ribs 21 and relatively greater flexibility in the longer ribs 29.

In previous forms of dust guards there was no effective seal against the axle, nor was there a seal against the sides of the recess I0, so that as the axle moved in a vertical direction foreign matter would inevitably pass through any spaces or openings available to reach the inside of the Journal box.

The advantages of the present seal over those heretofore known will be obvious when it is considered that a tight seal results not only around the axle but with respect to the recess I0, which seal is sufficiently flexible to prevent excessive friction.

Furthermore, if there should be any leakage of oil outwardly past the sealing rib 25, it would be deflected downwardly to the ribs 29 which would prevent the oil from going farther.

From the foregoing description it will be evident that we have provided a novel form of dust guard or seal for use in the conventional railroad car journal boxes. It will also be clear that certain changes may be made in the form construction and arrangement of parts from that disclosed herein without in any way departing from the spirit of the invention or sacrificing any of .the attendant advantages hereof, provided. however, that such changes fall within the scope of the claims appended hereto.

Having thus described our invention what we claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. A seal of the class described, comprising a rigid plate having an opening therein, a flexible sealing rib having a substantially triangularly shaped cross-section extending outwardly from said plate around the edge of said opening and directed inwardly thereof. and a plurality of ilexible sealing ribs also having a substantially triangularly shaped cross-section extending outwardly from each sidel ci said plate adjacent the outer edge thereof, the ribs on one side of said plate being longer in an axial direction than the ribs on the other side of said plate.

2. A seal for use in conjunction with a conventional railroad car journal box wherein the box is provided with a recess at one end thereof adapted to receive said seal, comprising a plate having an opening therein to receive a car axle, a flexible sealing lip around the edge of said opening and directed inwardly of the opening adapted to bear against the axle therein, and flexible sealing rib means on each side of said plate adjacent the outer edge thereof adapted to contact both walls of the recess in which it is to be received, the sealing rib means on one side of said plate having a greater axial length than the sealing rib means on the other side of said plate whereby any substance is prevented from entering or leaving the journal box.

3. A seal of the class described comprising a rigid plate having an opening therein adapted to receive a railroad car axle, flexible sealing means around the edge of said opening adapted to contact said axle, and a plurality of fiexible sealing ribs each having a substantially triangularly shaped cross section extending outwardly from each side of said plate adjacent the outer edge thereof and following the outline of said plate, all of said ribs except the outermost rib on one side of the plate extending in a direction sub- 60 di stantially perpendicular to said plate and said outermost rib on the one side of the plate extending angularly outwardly from said plate.

4. A seal for use in conjunction with a railroad car journal box axle comprising a rigid member contoured to provide spaced, substantially parallel edge portions and an arcuate portion connecting said edge portions at one end thereof, a body of elastomeric material molded on to said member, and defining Within the confines of said member a substantially circular opening the diameter of which is slightly less .than the diameter of the axle, whereby the edge of said opening will form a ilexible seal against the axle, a plurality of radially spaced and axially directed flexible sealing ribs molded to and extending outwardly from each side of said member and conforming substantially tothe contour thereof, and an additional flexible rib on each side of said member and joining one of the aforesaid ribs at substantially the free ends thereof.

MILTON D. PATTULLO. RICHARD J. SHANAHAN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 667,437 Hachmann Feb. 5, 1901 1,273,738 Chrstenson July 23, 1918 1,989,110 Penniman Jan. 29, 1935 2,012,974 Penniman Sept. 3, 1935 2,012,673 Brown Dec. 21, 1937 2,105,871 Vigne Jan. 18, 1938 2,106,293 Christenson Jan. 25, 1938 2,159,825 Stevens May 23, 1939 2,165,102 Kimball July 4, 1939 2,181,203 Reynolds Nov. 28, 1939 2,183,004 Boyd Dec. 12, 1939 2 210,823 Victor et al. Aug. 6, 1940 2,213,414 Simpson Sept. 3, 1940 2,241,870 Scribner May 13, 1941 2,348,586 Antonelli May 9, 1944 2,405,279 Victor Aug. 6, 1946 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 558,544 Great Britain oi' 1944 

